I am an Indie game developer. I've been working solo for two or three years now and teaching myself. I can work in 3D modeling applications as well as program in c++ and do blueprint in unreal engine. I know most of the pipeline and the suite.

I'd like to transition to doing game Dev full time or at the very least do programming as my job. I have no degree.

I'm looking for contracts or whatever I can get and I'd like to get suggestions on how I should go about quitting my shity night shift job at a factory and finally work in tech.

I've got a couple contracts going on right now that I am not sure if they are going to last. I would like to know how I should go about finding more and or what things I should do in order to get residual income so I can focus on my own projects.

I have several of my own games in the works and I'm developing some tools for the marketplace. Advice?

"I have several of my own games in the works and I'm developing some tools for the marketplace. Advice?"

Finish one thing you can show and don't tell your potential customers that you have a bunch of unfinished stuff. It doesn't look good; could make them think "if he didn't finish stuff he worked on because he wanted to, then maybe he won't finish my stuff as well or will half ass it at some point when he gets bored with it".

@M1sf3t most triple a games have a full team of writers. The amount of backstory is amazing. Dialogue writers are also big.

Indiegame devs have lessresources so there the designer will probably write it. Though the designer can be the same person as the dev

start applying, it’s going to take hundreds and hundreds of applications.

@toriyuno applying where and for what

@M1sf3t talk to you about what?

Also to clarify, by in the works I mean the I cycle rotation of development on them when I get too burnt out. 3-4 of my projects are in alpha on steam.

@Starkium I’m assuming you want to be working as a full-time game developer at some company. So start applying. At the very least you’ll get feedback on what areas you’re lacking. Right now you have no idea how you stack against other people or what you’re missing.

@M1sf3t most indiedevs like doing it themselves or its just an expense they cannot guarantee to afford for a while.

The game industry is hard and risky especially as indie.
I enjoy making games in my free time have put out a few 6 years ago. Why would indie devs reach out to you?

@Starkium which games on steam? I rarely support devs who have multiple early access games because the risk of zero being finished is quite big.

@toriyuno no I have my own company, I meant picking up contracts or a side job in tech. I abhore AAA games companies for the most part.

@Codex404 the only public one is long due for the update I had to keep pushing back because of the 5th total refactor. (VR development has been a hell of a ride)

Https://lifeartstudios.net if you want to browse my current projects. ( Yes I am now aware of "dungeon master" being an owned ip )

@M1sf3t do you write stories, concepts or dialogues?

@Starkium vr dev is hard, not the development itself but the constant removing headsets to debug things.

@M1sf3t I'd be willing to take a look some samples

@Starkium that is amazing 😮 I admire entrepreneurs

@Codex404 that and the rapidly evolving landscape. Thank God for VR expansion plugin.

Oh and this is kind of cool, but Im part of the steam Developer hardware testing group so I have valve's knuckles and I'm in a private group with all the big VR names right now.

@toriyuno thanks, but it'll be amazing once I get recognition or finish a damn project.

I started learning programming and game Dev when I started my company like 2-3 years ago.

That was a hellish time period. Was working for apple maps for a year traveling the country with all my dev gear in a duffle bag. New hotel every week or two, 90 hour work weeks with apple while I crammed all my learning in every second I could find. Then the next year or two I was constantly floating between jobs and ended up graveyard shift stuff just to manage life somewhat.

Just glad to be at a point where I feel like I can tackle any problem.

@Starkium so you already had a dev background with Apple?

@toriyuno nope, I just drove the van lol. I had basically no dev skills till I started my journey into game Dev. I have no idea why Valve even let me in their hardware test group.

It's been a wild ride, but I feel it's time to start moving full time into tech industry... somehow.

@Starkium omg 😆😂🤣🚐

@irene @root most amazing backstory ever

@M1sf3t like I will write a book or something about it eventually because some fucked shit has happened during this grow process

@M1sf3t no, but for example we had someone drive $1m worth of apple equipment into a lake.

Practice practice practice, finish as much as you can, show off your work, and get lucky.

It helps to have a niche or two; like mine is systems and particle emitters. I also make a good dev manager. But getting in the door is definitely the hardest part but far.

@Starkium Me so jealous :O How are the knuckles? Can't wait until I can upgrade my Vive to a Valve Index

@Codex404 totally changes VR, I made a spider-man VR demo and I've got a bunch of other plans

@Starkium Only a few months. Im hyped (as you can notice) :D

What is your favourite VR game btw? I love playing EuroTruck 2, Superhot and Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

@Codex404 I was really into super hot, beat saber, VR chat. then there's a handful of games that hold my attention for a while but I never really find myself coming back.

to be honest, I hope this doesn't come off in a weird way but I genuinely enjoy playing my own products and demos that I've made way more than anything else on the market. I say this because I just don't find anything else on the market having that lock you into another world and replayability factor. I found games that have one or the other of those quality, but not having both of those things really takes me away from it.

not to mention the vast majority of VR games don't feel like they were designed with VR in mind.

So all that being said I will continue to play my own broken demos/ alphas with way more enthusiasm than most of what I play from the market simply because I try really hard to have both of those two factors locked in. Immersion and replayability. Add on top of that some very fun mechanics

@Starkium owh no I completely understand it. I once made a small demo where you had infinite number of wooden building blocks (like those child toys) and build some castles with it. It was amazing.

TrainerVR was also fun although I have not played it in a while.